According to official figures from the Office for National Statistics (ONS), 30.6 million overseas residents visited the UK last year, an increase of 800,000 on 2010. Almost half of the increase was accounted for by people from Asia, South America and Africa. Visits from Brazil rose by over 50 per cent, while Chinese visitors rose by a third as people from emerging markets flocked to the UK.

Visits by Americans hit their highest levels since 2008. The ONS said that over the month of April, when the royal wedding took place, an extra 350,000 visitors came to the UK compared to the previous year. Visitors spent a record £17.8 billion over 2011, equivalent to almost £600 each and a year-on-year increase of 5 per cent.

VisitBritain, the UK’s tourism body, said that “records tumbled” over the year. Patricia Yates, director of strategy and communication at VisitBritain, said: “We have had three straight years of declining arrival figures, so for 2011 to show a return to growth, with 800,000 more overseas visitors coming to Britain, is great news.”

The number of visitors who came to the UK specifically for a holiday – as opposed to visit family and friends – rose by over 250,000 to 11.6 million, the highest number on record. Visitor numbers were further boosted by an increase in people on business trips. Ms Yates said that the momentum must be increased for this year’s Olympics, which she called “the largest spectacle on earth”.

“As we look back on a positive 2011 for both holiday visits and spend, we want to make sure we capitalise on these gains by helping boost jobs across the country and create a lasting tourism legacy for many years to come,” she said. Businesses have benefited from the boom. Recent figures showed that tax-free shopping in the UK at the end of last year was the highest for a decade.

Global Blue, a company that tracks tax-free spending in shops, said that Chinese and Nigerian shoppers in the UK spent a fifth more in December than they did the previous year. Richard Brown, an executive at the company, said: “December figures highlight the present wealth and spending power of tourists, particularly Chinese and Nigerian shoppers whose average spend per transaction both grew year-on-year by 19 per cent.”

Mike Saul, head of hospitality and leisure at Barclays Corporate, said there are signs that visitor numbers would continue to rise this year. According to VisitBritain, the top 10 attractions in London included the British Museum, the National Gallery and the Natural History Museum.